Healio (12/12) reports, “People with behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia” (bvFTD) “were more likely to exhibit apathy and functional decline, even in the mildest stage of dementia, compared with patients with Alzheimer’s disease,” researchers concluded in a study that “included 866 individuals with a clinical diagnosis of bvFTD at baseline who were enrolled in the National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center Uniform Data Set…between 2005 and 2019 and had one or more annual follow-ups.” The findings were published online in a research letter in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Patients with frontotemporal dementia more likely to exhibit apathy, functional decline “Ken Downey Jr., Healio, December 12, 2022

USA Today (12/9, Weintraub) reported, “NFL players age nearly a decade faster than the general population and suffer from arthritis and high blood pressure as early as their 20s,” investigators concluded in a study that “compared survey results from 4,000 living former players with similar questions asked of the general public in government surveys.” The study matched players “with people of the same age, race and body mass index,” then compared the results, finding that former players were “almost 10 years ahead of the general population.” The findings were published online in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

HealthDay (12/9, Murez) also covered the study.

Related Links:

— “NFL players age faster than the rest of us. Harvard is researching what can be done. “Karen Weintraub, USA TODAY, December 9, 2022

Psychiatric News (12/9) reported, “Experiencing multiple stressful events or chronic stress at home or at work over the course of a year raises the risk of several types of stroke,” but “having a greater sense of control over the situations and experiences that affect one’s life – a greater locus of control – may help counter the impact of stress on stroke risk,” investigators concluded after analyzing “data from 26,812 participants in the INTERSTROKE study.” The findings were published online Dec. 9 in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Increased Risk of Stroke Linked to Stress at Home, Work, Psychiatric News, December 9, 2022

CNN (12/8, Howard) reports, “There were about 181,806 nonfatal opioid overdoses recorded in the United States in the past year, and it’s taken about 9.8 minutes on average for emergency medical services to reach someone” who is experiencing an overdose, “according to a data dashboard that the White House debuted Thursday.” The “first-of-its-kind dashboard was developed to track nonfatal opioid overdoses, which have become a growing public health concern as the U.S. struggles with a decades-long opioid epidemic.”

The Hill (12/8, Choi) reports, “The Nonfatal Opioid Overdose Dashboard tracks rates across states and territories using information from the National EMS Information System.” This “dashboard, made in partnership with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) also tracks the current percentage of patients not transported to a medical facility, the number of naloxone administration per overdose as well as the average time it takes EMS to reach a patient.”

Related Links:

— “More than 180,000 people overdosed on opioids and survived in the past year, new White House dashboard shows “Jacqueline Howard, CNN, December 8, 2022

Healio (12/8, Bascom) reports “a joint letter from six major medical organizations” including the American Psychiatric Association “calls on Congress to ensure patients can access affordable, quality health care.” The groups highlighted issues surrounding Medicare, mental health, telehealth, among others. The article adds, “According to the organizations, these issues ‘are of great concern for all patients, especially those with serious health conditions for whom delays in care are most dangerous.’” They also can “affect physicians, being ‘particularly burdensome for smaller physician practices that may not have the staff or structure to address the additional administrative work, potentially impeding access to care in underserved areas with clinician workforce shortages.’”

Related Links:

— “Top medical groups ask Congress to prioritize Medicare payments, mental health and more “Emma Bascom, Healio, December 8, 2022

The Los Angeles Times (12/8, Curwen) reports, “The California Policy Lab at UCLA counts just over 4,500 people living on the streets of” Los Angeles County “who have a psychotic disorder like schizophrenia, and that number includes only those who have received outreach services.” The article profiles a man named Anthony who, “since 2013…has been detained, hospitalized and confined at least five times.” While Anthony’s “family tried to intervene and manage his symptoms…the volatile nature of his condition and the cost of treatment made it impossible.” The article recounts Anthony’s lifelong and current experiences with the county’s “badly broken” mental healthcare system.

Related Links:

— “The Los Angeles Times, December 8, 2022

Healio (12/7, Rhoades) reports, “A driver training software program reduced the frequency of long glances from the roadway among adolescents with” attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD), “compared with a control training program,” investigators concluded in a study that randomized “152 adolescents aged 16 to 19 years with” AD/HD “to either the FOCAL+ intervention…or a modified conventional driver’s training program, which served as the control group.” The findings were published online Dec. 1 in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Related Links:

— “Driver training software program associated with fewer distractions in ADHD youth “Andrew Rhoades, Healio, December 7, 2022

mHealth Intelligence (12/7, Melchionna) reports “America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) described survey results indicating that Americans value the convenience associated with telehealth, with 69 percent saying they prefer it over in-person care for this reason.” Among the “survey respondents who were commercially insured, 40 percent claimed to have used telehealth within a year prior, and 53 percent claimed to have used it between two and five times within a year prior.” Roughly “69 percent of commercially insured telehealth users said they used telehealth due to the associated high level of convenience compared to in-person care, 78 percent stated that telehealth made the process of seeking out healthcare easier, and 85 percent said there is an adequate number of [healthcare professionals] available via telehealth for their subjective needs.”

Related Links:

— “Majority of Americans Value the Convenience Associated with Telehealth ” Mark Melchionna, mHealth Intelligence, December , 2022

Medscape (12/7, Anderson, Subscription Publication) reports, “About 21% of teens newly diagnosed with epilepsy experience suicidal ideation, and the percentage jumps to 31% within 3 years,” according to research presented at the 2022 American Epilepsy Society Annual Meeting. The article adds, “From a cohort of over 400 participants, researchers identified 67 patients aged 11-17 years who were enrolled within 4 months of starting treatment for focal epilepsy.” The team “found that more than 1 in 5 (20.9%) teens endorsed any lifetime SI.”

Related Links:

— Medscape (requires login and subscription)

Psychiatric News (12/7) reports, “Children and adolescents with migraine have approximately twice the risk of anxiety or depression compared with youth without migraine,” investigators concluded in the findings of an 80-study systematic review and meta-analysis published online Oct. 31 in JAMA Pediatrics.

Related Links:

— “Migraine in Young People Linked to Anxiety, Depressive Disorders, Study Shows, Psychiatric News, December 7, 2022